Article for smoking tobacco



Nov. 8, 1955 l. R. MEOHAS ARTICLE FOR SMOKING TOBACCO Filed March 26, 1951 United States Patent ARTICLE FOR SMOKING TOBACCO Isaac R. Meohas, Long Beach, Calif.

Application March 26, 1951, Serial No. 217,615

1 Claim. (Cl. 131-179) My invention relates to articles used in the smoking oftobacco, and specifically to a device provided with means designed to reduce the amount ofthe harmful ele ments present in tobacco smoke and usually inhaled by a smoker.

As is Well known, tobacco smoke contains nicotine as well as small amounts of other products such as tar, and many forms of cigarette holders and pipe stems have been devised incorporating filters of various types to reduce the amount of the undesirable constituents of the tobacco smoke which otherwise would be drawn into the smokers mouth.

Since a good deal of the products vaporized by the heat of the burning tobacco are condensed in the butt portion of a cigarette, some smokers will throw away cigarettes only partly smoked to lessen the staining of the fingers caused by the concentration of products of combustion in the end of the butt which is moistened by the lips and seeps to the surface. Much of the concentrated nicotine and the like, in the butt is of course, drawn into the mouth of those who smoke their cigarettes down to a short butt.

The use of a cigarette holder avoids the staining of the smokers fingers, particularly if the holder is fitted with means for ejecting the cigarette butts so that the butt does not need to be handled at all, but cigarette holders are themselves often a source of annoyance. One drawback is that the products of combustion are condensed in the cigarette holder, together with moisture from the smokers mouth, as also is the case in the stems of pipes, so that frequent cleaning is necessary. As cleaning cigarette holders and pipe stems is an unpleasant task, it is very generally not done as frequently as it should be with the result that the pockets of smokers clothing are often soiled by seepage from the cigarette holders or pipe stems, the odor of such seepage being very disagreeable and hard to remove.

In an effort to filter out the undesired products of combustion, filters of various types have been incorporated in cigarette holders and pipe stems but the constant changing of such filters is both disagreeable and awkward.

It is the general object of my invention to provide an article for smoking tobacco which, in addition to providing cool smoke filtered of much of the deleterious products of combustion, which are condensed within the article, is so arranged that the condensed products are retained within the article, and cannot soil the smokers pockets or clothing. In addition, the article is so arranged that it may be flushed with clean under a water faucet Very quickly without requiring the use of any special devices or the removal of dirtied filter elements and their replacement with fresh elements.

A specific object of my invention is to provide a filter unit which may be incorporated in a cigarette holder or pipe stem and removed as a unit for cleaning by holding the filter unit under a faucet.

A further object is to arranged the filter unit in a cigarette or like holder in such a manner that it may be used ice as a butt ejector, but nevertheless may be readily withdrawn from the holders for washing.

Another object of my invention is to provide a stern, mouthpiece, and filter unit which may be used as a cigarette or cheroot holder, and by the use of a detachable bowl may form a pipe, the advantages of the filter unit being obtained in either case.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a simple and sturdy cigarette or pipe construction incorporating a filter element of novel arrangement and manner of operation, the whole article being inexpensive to manufacture and not requiring the use of replacement elements to keep it in satisfactory operation.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a stem for a cigarette holder or pipe formed to incorporate a filter so arranged that it will also function as a cigarette stub ejector, and which is so arranged that it may be readily taken apart for cleaning.

Still further features and objects of my invention will hereinafter appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention at present considered preferable by me.

in the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a combined cigarette holder and pipe incorporating the filter unit of my invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the device in use as a cigarette holder;

Figure 3 is a central vertical cross section'through the device of the invention as shown in Figure l;

Figure 4is a cross sectional view of the device of Figure 2;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of a modified form of condensing or filter tube on a slightly enlarged scale;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of another modification of a condensing or filter tube on a slightly enlarged scale.

In Figures 1 and 3 the numeral 10 indicates the stern of a cigarette holder which may also be used as a pipe. The stem is tubular and may be of any suitable material such as metal or plastic. The stem is slotted from its mouthpiece end toward the opposite end as indicated at 11.

A mouthpiece 12 is fitted to one end of the stem, as for instance, by pushing it on the stem with a sliding fit, the bore through the mouthpiece being indicated at 12a. The forward end of the mouthpiece is bored at 13 to fit closely on the stem 10 and the inside vertical face 14 at the end of the bore is furnished with a circular groove 15.-

A filter and condensing tube 16 is fitted within the stem, and is spaced from the inner surface of the stem, as by a ring 17 around the forward end of the tube 16, and a second ring 18 spaced intermediate the ends of the tube. A small lug 19 is fixed to ring 18 and projects through slot 11. The lug may be fitted with any suitable finger piece such as a small knob 20 enabling it to be readily engaged by the users finger for a purpose later to be described. The tube 16 is fitted at its forward end with an inturned interior flange or end wall 21 formed with a fiat annular face 22 and a rearwardly extending truncated cone portion 23 having a central opening 23a. The flange 21 may be secured in place, for instance by hard solder. At the rearward end of tube 16 a second interior flange or end wall 24 is positioned, this flange also having a portion 25 of truncated cone form projecting forwardly in the tube and a central opening 25a. The purpose of the interior flanges is to securely retain within the tube any liquid material condensed from the smoke drawn through the tube and moisture from the smokers mouth, thus preventing this liquid from seeping out of the stem 10 while the latter is being carried in the smokers clothing.

It will be noted from Figures 1 and 3 that a pipe bowl provided with a short stem 27 may be fitted into the end of the stem 10, the diameter of stem 27 being the same as that of a standard cigarette, so that the action of the tube 16 is utilized in exactly the same way as when the pipe bowl is removed and the stem and mouthpiece used as a cigarette holder.

The pipe bowl may be held against turning in the mouth of the stem, for instance by a pin projecting from the stem of the pipe bowl and engaging a notch 29 in the end of the stern.

It will be seen from Figure 3 that the end of the pipe stem 27, around the bore 30 through the stem to the bowl of the pipe, will abut the annular face 22 of the forward interior flange 21 of tube 16 and will push the rearward end of the tube 16 into air-tight engagement with the head 14 of the bore in the mouthpiece 12. The bore 30 in the pipe stern will be in alignment with the central opening 23a of flange 21 and the central opening 250 of the rearward interior flange 24 of the tube will be aligned with the bore 12a of the mouthpiece.

When the stem and mouthpiece are used as a cigarette holder, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, the butt 31 of the cigarette 32 is pushed into the forward end of the stem 10 and will bear against the annular face 22 at the forward end of tube 16 and will position the tube within the stem 10 as explained above.

When it is desired to eject a cigarette stub it is merely necessary to push knob 20 forwardly until the annular face 22 is brought flush with the end of the stem of the cigarette holder and the butt of the cigarette will drop clear of the stem.

The tubes 16 shown in Figures 3 and 4 are formed as a one-piece unit, but if preferred, the units may be formed of more than a single length of tube as shown in Figure 6 in which the unit comprises two lengths of tube 33, 34 fitted together at 35. The unit shown in this figure is otherwise the same in arrangement as the filter tubes previously described.

A further form of the filter tube is shown in Figure which is particularly designed for insertion in the stems of existing forms of pipes and cigarette holders. The filter tube of the form shown in Figure 5 may be used to replace filters of the cylindrical textile fiber type and may be held in position in any suitable way. It will be obvious that although this form of the filter unit of my invention is not movable from the interior of the stem in which it is mounted, the filter may be readily slid out of the stem after removal of the mouthpiece which is always detachably secured to the stems of pipes as is generally also the case with cigarette holders. If the mouthpiece of a cigarette holder is not detachable. the filter tube may he slid forwardly out of the holder.

The filter tube shown in Figure 5 comprises a length of tube 35 fitted with conical end walls 36, 37 provided with coaxial openings. The forward end wall 37 is provided with a flat annular face 38 against which the end of a cigarette or of a stem projecting from the bowl of a pipe is pushed.

While I have particularly described and illustrated preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as intended to be defined by the appended claim.

I claim:

A holder for smoking articles selectively adapted for use with either a cigarette or a pipe bowl, said pipe bowl having a stem piece of an external diameter approximating the external diameter of a cigarette and mounting a radially extending pin, comprising: a tubular stern having a mouthpiece secured at one of its ends, said stem being formed with a longitudinally extending notch at its opposite end and with a longitudinally extending slot; a tubular filter and condensing tube coaxially disposed within said stern, said condensing tube being shorter than said stem and including a first external ring at one of its ends and a second external ring at its intermediate portion whereby it will be longitudinally slidable within said stem, said tube normally having its end remote from said first r external ring disposed adjacent said mouthpiece in order that a cigarette or said pipe bowl stem piece may be in serted in the end of said stem remote from said mouthpiece, said pin being inserted within said notch when said pipe bowl stem piece is utilized to prevent relative rotational movement between the bowl and stem; a lug affixed to said second ring and extending through said slot whereby said cigarette or said pipe bowl stem piece may be removed from said stem by urging said lug away from said mouthpiece; and inwardly extending frusto-conical end walls provided with coaxial openings formed upon each end of said tube whereby liquid material condensed during smoking cigarettes or tobacco in said pipe bowl may be prevented from inadvertent leakage out of said tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,121,300 Singley Dec. 15, 1914 1,827,412 Welch Oct. 13, 1931 1,856,015 Anzell Apr. 26, 1932 1,864,410 Copell c- June 21, 1932 2,124,221 Jacobs July 19, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS 4,434 Great Britain 1876 16,360 Great Britain 1891 20,184 Great Britain l9ll 209,625 Great Britain Jan. 17. 1924 233,611 Great Britain May 14, 1925 562,454 Great Britain July 3, 1944 616,630 Great Britain Jan. 25, 1949 

